Ten days? A war?
"What kind of war?" Jean asked, his eyes sharp.
Lucci met his gaze and solemnly declared:
"In ten days, Thanos will lead the Chitauri army in an invasion of Earth!"
"Thanos?" Jean frowned. "The one who sent those troublemakers to our school? That Thanos?"
"Yes," Lucci affirmed.
Everyone's expression darkened. While Proxima Midnight and Black Dwarf had been dispatched with little effort last time, everyone knew: they were by no means weak. Now the master who commanded them—the Mad Titan seeking to erase half the universe's life—was coming in person!
A heavy mood hung over the mutants.
Yet, Jean showed neither fear nor hesitation; instead, there was a faint eagerness to go head-to-head.
"Good. Last time, they caught me off guard. I want to see for myself just how strong this Mad Titan really is!"
Lucci smiled slightly but cautioned:
"Don't take him lightly, Jean. Thanos already has the Power Stone—he now wields strength far greater than any foe we've met before."
"The Power Stone?" Diana, standing nearby, gasped.
"You mean…the legendary Infinity Stones—remnants of the Big Bang singularity?"
Lucci nodded. "That's right."
At that, all the mutants—as well as Professor X and Magneto—looked utterly confused.
"Origin power? Infinity Stones? What's that?"
Diana took a deep breath, steadying herself as she explained:
"According to the oldest records on Themyscira, at the birth of the cosmos there were six singularities. During the Big Bang, they condensed into six core energy stones, each holding infinite power—representing space, time, reality, power, soul, and mind. Each stone grants its holder absolute dominion over its domain! For example, the Space Stone lets you travel instantly anywhere in the universe. The Reality Stone can warp the whole cosmos to your will, ignoring all laws of physics!"
Legend has it—if one were to gather all six Infinity Stones and control their power,
they would become…
an omnipotent god!
With just a snap, they could rewrite the universe at will!"
After Diana's mythic explanation, everyone, even Professor X, Magneto, and the seasoned warriors, stared open-mouthed. Such treasures existed…in the cosmos? Their understanding of power had never come close.
Superman too was shocked, but fire blazed in his eyes.
"Looks like I'm in the right place! With such a foe, I will fight by all means in ten days!"
Then, apologetically:
"But, Prince Lucci…how do you know Thanos will arrive in exactly ten days? Did you receive direct intel?"
Lucci shook his head.
"No. I simply looked ahead—using time itself—and saw the unfolding future."
Everyone fell dead silent.
Time…
The power to see the future?
Was this myth or reality?
Even Superman's pupils contracted in shock—he had perhaps guessed at Lucci's strength before, but now realized how wrong he'd been. Lucci was more…more than he could fathom!
Yet Lucci did not explain further. Words would never be as convincing as action.
Calmly, he raised his right hand and waved.
The laws of space shuddered ever so slightly, and an ultra-clear holographic vision of the future appeared before them, as if conjured from the very air!
A crimson, war-lit sky.
A colossal wormhole vomited forth endless Chitauri fleets—like a plague of locusts, banding overhead. Leviathan warbeasts swooped and raged, their massive bodies shattering skyscrapers with each blow!
At the fleet's rear loomed a titanic, cross-shaped mothership—the Sanctuary—casting a dark, oppressive shadow over the city, bristling with planet-crushing star-destroyer turrets, ready to erase cities in a single volley.
Through this glimpse of a woven future, every person could hear the roar, smell the smoke and blood; every hero felt a suffocating sense of world-ending dread.
"This is…Thanos's…power?"
A dead silence covered the lawn.
Everyone—no matter how battle-hardened—was left in awe of this apocalyptic vision. This was no mere war—
It was a massacre.
Superman's face turned grimmer than ever; he stared at the image of the mothership,
"What a massive alien armada…and you say Thanos holds the Power Stone as well. With such destructive force unleashed in a crowded city—"
Though he did not finish, the meaning was clear:
Such a clash would likely raze whole cities, even continents!
On hearing this, Professor X, Magneto, and the others' expressions turned grim. Indeed, cosmic war of this scale would devastate the environment—if they won at all, the cost to human civilization would be unbearable.
Lucci, seeing the group's solemn looks, closed the vision.
"Exactly. That's why I'm determined to make the battlefield a wilderness—or at least a region with the least possible harm to Earth."
Superman frowned:
"But—how can you dictate where the enemy will go?"
"Right!" Magneto chimed in. "If they're coming in force, fully prepared…why would they go where we want?"
The group nodded, worry deepening. It was nearly an unsolvable problem.
But Lucci remained calm, extending his right hand; under their confused gazes, he opened his palm.
At once, four distinct colors shimmered—each radiating a force that shook space, even the very fabric of time itself. One by one, these lights materialized above his palm:
A cloud of cosmic blue, warping the very air: Space Stone!
A sun-core yellow, piercing to soul and mind: Mind Stone!
Scarlet red, monstrous and malleable: Reality Stone!
Lush green, a swirl of hourglasses: Time Stone!
Lucci calmly spun the four Infinity Stones in his hands, exuding the might to reshape the cosmos.
He said,
"Thanos, from the start, has only one purpose: to gather all six Infinity Stones. With these four in my grasp, wherever I go on Earth—he will follow. He and his fleet will come, like it or not."
Everyone's eyes widened in realization.
Superman stared at the hovering stones, his legendary super-sight—so powerful it could peer into atoms—suddenly useless. He could not see through these stones, but only feel the cosmic, primal power they radiated…so immense it made even his Kryptonian cells tremble at the core.
"This…these are the Infinity Stones?"
His voice was raspy and dry.
"You…you really have four?"
Lucci nodded simply. Superman felt his worldview shatter.
"Four…all in your hands…! Unbelievable!"
Silence hung, then Professor X, Magneto, Jean, and Diana's faces lit up with hope and pride.
Before, Diana's warnings of Thanos and the Power Stone had filled hearts with dread. But now…what was there to fear? Thanos had one—Lucci had four! Four against one!
With Lucci holding them, how could they lose?
Confidence replaced fear, just from the sight.
Superman finally gathered himself. Gratefully, reverently, he asked,
"Prince Lucci, if we can determine the battlefield—where do you wish to fight?"
Lucci smiled.
"This war is about Earth, and there are hidden forces like Wakanda who have not yet joined the fight. It would be unreasonable if they did not. Let me show you—"
With a wave, a detailed, holographic miniature Earth appeared. Lucci's finger tapped upon it, zooming in on a region in Africa— a nation hidden in the jungles, far beyond the outside world in its technology.
"This is Wakanda. Wide-open terrain, very little population. It's the ideal place to make our stand against Thanos."
Superman nodded. "Understood. I'll gather the Justice League at once! In ten days, we'll give Thanos a true Earth welcome!"
Lucci smiled as Superman soared into the sky, vanishing with a streak of red and blue.
Watching him go, Lucci mused:
"Thanos…if you knew that today's Earth has not just me, but also monsters like Superman, and a huge force of mutants, would you weep? Perhaps a bit of bullying…but Thanos is too dangerous to underestimate. We need to strike fiercely—we can't give him a chance to turn the tables! So, in these last ten days, we must assemble every force we can find…Wanda and Quicksilver!"
At that, Lucci glanced unconsciously at Magneto, remembering Wanda and Pietro's ties to him.
Perhaps, now, it'd be possible to bring them—and as father and children, united, they could play a key role.
"Everyone, prepare for war," Lucci declared. "In ten days, I will take you personally to the battlefield! And everyone will have a part to play!"
"Yes, Prince Lucci!"
A chorus of resolute voices—each ablaze with fighting spirit.